My recent travels have been
even more bizarre than normal.† Over
Labor Day weekend, a friend of mine somehow talked me into driving to Baton Rouge to witness
Appalachian Stateís football game against mighty LSU.† At the time, it seemed like a fun idea.† Then Hurricane Gustav reared its evil
head.† Landfall wasnít expected until
Monday, but the State of Louisiana
went into full panic mode.† The
University, the Governor, and even FEMA got together to try to decide what to
do about the game.† On Thursday, they
announced that the game would go on as scheduled.† Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Friday was a hectic
day.† I spent the whole morning running
errands.† I met Eric at our house in Charlotte at noon, after he had driven down from High Point.† Then, 30 minutes before we planned to leave,
Eric stumbled across an announcement on the internet.† The Powers That Be had reconsidered.† The game, which had been originally scheduled
for 4pm, had been moved to the Ungodly hour of 10AM!† WTF?

We were still in Charlotte, and kickoff
was 20 hours away.† What to do?† I had just finished packing the car.† The steaks were marinating, and the
tailgating music was all planned out.†
Most importantly, what would we do with all that beer?

I called my buddy Tim in Alabama.† Our plan had been to drive to Hattiesburg, MS,
and meet him and his family at the hotel there.†
Somehow, he talked me out of bailing.†
The fact that I had all of the tickets probably had a little something
to do with it.† I didnít want to miss the
game, but I certainly didnít want everyone else to miss it because of me.

We picked Christy up when
school let out, and hit the highway for the mother of all road trips.† We made good time to Craplanta,
which we hit at rush hour.† That bogged
us down a little, but it couldíve been worse.†
We made it to the hotel in Hattiesburg
at 11pm CT and checked in.† Tim &
family had already settled in for the night, but we had already made plans to leave
just after 4am.† We still had to drive 2
Ĺ hours, and I was determined to get in a little tailgating, regardless of the
hour.† Tailgating at LSU is world-class,
and I didnít want to miss out on the experience.

The alarm on my new watch
went off at 4am.† I jumped up, and Eric,
who is a little OCD about bathing, hit the shower.† Then I looked at the hotel clock.† It suggested that it was only 3am.† Hmmm.† It turns out there was a little mix-up with
my watch and the Central Time Zone.†
Oops.† I had to break the bad news
to Eric while he was in the shower.† At
the time, I figured that it would be the sort of thing weíd all laugh about
later.† Actually, I decided not to
wait.† I went ahead and had a laugh right
then.† Christy and Eric were not amused.

We slept another hour, and
Eric took another shower (did I mention that heís a bit OCD about
bathing?).† We met Tim, his wife Carly, and their daughter Maggie, and packed Timís
car.† We all piled in with him, which was
a good move, since heíd had the most sleep.†
Two dozen KrispyKreme
donuts made the ride more pleasant, and we rolled into Red Stick, Louisiana, at dawn.† At that point, without the blistering sun
overhead, temperatures were only in the mid-80ís!

We found our way to the
unofficial ASU tailgating area and pulled in.†
We set up our tailgate, and set about relaxing after a hectic
drive.† We didnít grill the steaks for
breakfast, but we did have a beer or six.†
Who says 7am is too early for a cold one?

We headed for the stadium
around 9am.† The scenery en-route was
fantastic, and Iím not just referring to the co-eds.† We passed under a magnificent canopy of ancient
Live Oaks before reaching the stadium.†
Once there, we took advantage of the hospitality of the LSU fans.† They were free with the food and beer, and we
delayed our entrance into the stadium to a few minutes before kickoff.† This was a mistake, as we were on the wrong
side, and ended up having to circle one of the largest stadiums in the
country.† The only other challenge getting
into the stadium was enduring the occasional chants of ďtigerbaitĒ.† Thatís how LSU fans refer to the fans of
their opponents.† I actually thought it
was kind of cute, especially when it came from the mouth of a giggly four-year
old girl.

We didnít miss much with our
late entrance.† LSUís
team was overwhelming.† That was ok though.† We all knew going in that our chances of
pulling off another earth-shattering upset were pretty slim.† The only bad thing about the game was the
heat!† Even before noon, the temperature
mustíve been in the high 90ís.† Iím sure
our players loved it, particularly since they were wearing black uniforms.† My favorite part of the stadium was the
walkway near the concession stand behind where our seats were.† There was a fantastic breeze blowing through
there to accompany a fine view of the Mississippi River.† Iím not sure if the wind was courtesy of
Hurricane Gustav out in the Gulf, or if it always blows through there.† Either way, it was hard to return to our
seats once we discovered it.

We stayed for the whole
game, and briefly considered tailgating after the game.† However, the authorities were doing
everything they could to run everybody off.†
We knew evacuation traffic might be bad, so, after a leisurely lunch at
a chain steakhouse, we hit the road.†
I-10 west towards Houston
was a parking lot, but fortunately we were going east.† When we passed over I-55, I grew
concerned.† The northbound lanes towards Memphis werenít moving at
all.† What would I-59 towards Birmingham be like?

We were in luck.† Traffic was heavy, but at least it was
moving.† We made it back to Hattiesburg by late
afternoon, and returned to the hotel.†
Upon arriving, we discovered that the ASU marching band was staying
there, too.† What an amazing coincidence!

That night, we decided to
use the hotelís grill out by the pool to cook the steaks weíd brought for
tailgating.† That seemed like a great
idea, until a sudden thunderstorm caught us off-guard.† Everyone scrambled for shelter, while I
attempted to salvage dinner.† The steaks
came out ok, and even the corn on the cob was edible.† We had dinner in the lobby of the hotel, and
made quite a spectacle of ourselves doing so.†
I know I was literally dripping wet.

We all slept hard that
night, and we didnít get up at 3am, or even 4am.† We did arise at 6, since we had at least a
9-hour drive ahead of us.† With
evacuation traffic though, we knew it could take a lot longer than that.

The drive couldíve been
worse.† Traffic was heavy, but for the
most part it was moving.† Oddly, it
couldíve been moving a lot faster than it was.†
I spent most of the morning passing in the right lane, since the left
lane was constantly occupied with cars moving 20mph under the speed limit for
no apparent reason.† Now, evacuating from
a hurricane certainly isnít the best set of circumstances, but some of the
driving we witnessed was appalling.† If
driving were an athletic event, this wouldíve been the Special Olympics.† It was a miracle there wasnít a wreck every
mile or so along that highway.

Apparently there was one
somewhere near Meridian, Mississippi.†
Traffic was stop and go for several miles before we reached an
exit.† After a brief glance at the map, I
noticed another road running parallel to the interstate a couple of miles
away.† Apparently nobody else had a map,
because there wasnít any traffic on it.†
We took it into Meridian,
and stopped for gas just before rejoining the highway.† Gas prices were only gouged a little bit, but
using a bathroom proved to be out of the question.† We had to delay that until the AlabamaWelcomeCenter,
which was marginally more pleasant.

Once in Alabama, the drive improved.† Traffic finally thinned out near Birmingham, and we had a
great lunch at Panera Bread.† We made good time from there home, and even
made it back to Charlotte
before dark.† That was a good thing,
because I was flying to Montana
early the next morning.

HANNA MONTANA

I was scheduled to work in Missoula, Montana
from Wednesday thru Friday.† There was no
way I could travel to western Montana
without doing at least a little hiking.†
So, I brought hiking and camping gear with me, determined to have a
little adventure.† By Sunday night
exhaustion was giving me second thoughts, but it was too late to change my
plans.

My second thoughts resumed
when we landed in Missoula.† Light rain was falling, and it was cold!† The temperature couldnít have been much over
40 degrees.† It was quite a shock, after
spending the weekend sweltering in Louisiana.† Conditions certainly werenít appropriate for
celebrating the unofficial last day of summer.

I picked up my luggage, the rental
car, and a sub for lunch.† Then I headed
out of town, with my plans still rather undefined.† Originally Iíd thought about doing a short
hike to an overlook in the BitterrootMountains.† Although the rain had stopped, there were
enough heavy, wet clouds hanging around to render that activity pointless.† I headed towards the Bitterroots anyway
though.† Shortly before the town of Hamilton, I followed the
signed turnoff for Bear Creek.† At the
end of the road, I found the Bear Creek Trailhead, and a primitive picnic /
camping area.† Amenities were limited to
a picnic table and a pit toilet, but that was more than I needed.† For this night, the camping experience would
be limited to simply finding a place to pitch my tent.† Fortunately there was a good spot there under
the pines, a short distance from lovely Bear Creek.† I pitched the tent, and decided to go for a
walk.

I hiked up the Bear Creek
Trail, passing a couple of other groups along the way.† The path traversed a hillside, well above the
creek.† At times, I passed through open
areas created by avalanches or rock slides.†
In these areas, I could just make out the soaring rock walls and
pinnacles of the canyon looming through the fog.† At one point, I got a clear view up the
canyon, towards the high peaks of the Selway
Bitterroot Wilderness.† The clouds parted
briefly, and I couldíve sworn I saw snow up there.† Then the fog rolled back in, and I decided it
mustíve been my eyes playing tricks on me.

After an hour, I passed BearCreekFalls, which is more of a
cascading slide than a true waterfall.† Either way though, it was a pretty spot.† I continued on a bit farther, before it
started to rain.† I reached the boundary of
the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness Area and headed
back.† The day was getting late, I was
getting wet, and I was ready for a warm meal.

I made it back to the car in
an hour.† I hadnít brought a stove or
even much in the way of food.† So, I
drove into Hamilton
and found my way to the Bitterroot Brewing Company.† There I sampled a couple of pretty good beers
and enjoyed some pizza.† The rain had
ended by the time I returned to camp.† I
attempted to stay up and read, but it wasnít long before exhaustion finally
caught up with me.

I had all of Tuesday free,
and I was determined to take advantage of it.†
I got up fairly early, despite sleeping through my alarm.† I ate cold cereal for breakfast, packed up my
wet tent, and hit the road.† My plan for
the day was to attempt to climb LoloPeak.† LoloPeak is in the Selway
Bitterroot Wilderness, but it isnít far from Missoula.†
The morning was a little foggy, but some areas were completely
clear.† I was in one of those areas when
I noticed snow dusting the highest peaks to the west.† I was a bit concerned, as I wasnít prepared
for snow.† On the other hand, the snow
made the scenery even more beautiful.†

A long drive up a dirt road
brought me to the trailhead for LoloPeak.† The trailhead is close to 6000í, but the
summit of LoloPeak is over 9K.† I knew I was in for a challenging hike
without even considering the overall altitude.†
Trying to hike above 9000í one day after being at sea level is generally
considered to be a bad idea.† I was
determined to give it a try though.

At the trailhead, I met a
young local guy target shooting with a bow.†
It was still a chilly morning when I packed up my gear and hit the
trail.† The hike started out with a
tedious series of switchbacks.† The climb
wasnít steep, but it was a bit monotonous as I worked my way up through Lodgepole Pine.† The
monotony ended quickly though when I reached the first of the fresh snow!† I knew I might get into some snow up high,
but I hadnít expected to spend all day walking in it.† Initially there was only a dusting, but soon
the ground was completely covered.† By
the time I approached the crest of the ridge, I was plowing through 6Ē of fresh
powder.† I certainly didnít expect to be
hiking in the snow on September 2nd, Montana or not.

Around this time, another
hiker caught up to me.† We chatted
briefly, and I found out that he was from Missoula.† He had climbed LoloPeak
previously, but never in the snow.† He
had some doubts about his ability to make it there in those conditions.† The route follows a trail most of the way,
but the last part of the climb is cross-country.† Once we were off-trail, the snow would make
things mighty interesting.

I vowed to press on; after
all, Iíd be coming back this way sooner or later anyway.† I let the other hiker go ahead, which was
advantageous.† From that point, I was
able to follow his footsteps.† This made
the walking easier, not to mention the navigation.† I think I wouldíve had a tough time following
the route in the snow, once we left the trail behind.

I crested a wooded ridge,
and reached an overlook with a fine view of LoloPeak and Carltonlake.† I had an early lunch there, before following
the footsteps down towards the lake.

Just before the lake, I
joined an old roadbed, which brought me to a small earthen dam.† The view of LoloPeak
from here was delightful, as the snowy peak was reflected in the surface of the
lake.† Beyond the lake, I left the trail
but continued following footsteps steeply up towards LoloPeakís east ridge.† At one point, the ascent steepened further,
and traction was difficult in the snow.†
I attempted another route up a rocky gully, but this proved
hazardous.† The snow obscured the rocks,
making the footing treacherous.†
Eventually I gave up on that, and returned to the steepest pitch.† I struggled up through the snow before the
grade eased.† At this point, I met the
same hiker Iíd seen earlier, heading back.†
He had made it onto the ridge, but had found the footing and snow
conditions too dangerous to continue.† He
was local, had climbed the mountain before, and no doubt had more experience
hiking in the snow than me.† If he deemed
it too dangerous, there was no way I would try it.

Although Iíd given up on the
summit, I wasnít ready to turn back.† I
continued up to the crest of the ridge, and was rewarded for my efforts.† There, I had a great view of CarltonLake behind me.† To the south, I gazed out over more snowy
peaks and sparkling blue lakes.† To the
west, my eyes followed the ridge up to the north summit of LoloPeak.† From there, I traced the ridge through the
saddle to the south summit.† It was a
spectacular view, and I knew Iíd have to return again some day.

Continuing from here
wouldíve been dicey.† The ridge is quite
narrow, and staying on the crest wouldíve required considerable rock
scrambling.† That mightíve been fun in
dry conditions, but it didnít seem like a good idea in the snow.† It may have been possible to skirt the edge
of the ridge, but there was a very steep drop off there.† Taking that approach wouldíve required
carrying an ice axe.† After considering
these options, I was content to stop there.

After a brief break, I began
the long journey back.† Iíd been
concerned about getting down the steeper snow-covered slopes, but that proved
to be easy.† The biggest hazard I
encountered going out was the heavy clumps of wet snow falling from the
trees.† One whizzed just past me, hitting
the ground with a heavy thump.† That
mightíve hurt a bit if it had been a direct hit.

I passed CarltonLake,
and climbed back up to Carlton Ridge.†
From there, it was a simple descent on countless switchbacks to the
trailhead.† Back at the car, I took a
drive to the end of the road, which terminates on MormonPeak.† There wasnít much of a view up there, but I
did notice a couple of primitive camping areas along the way.

That evening, I returned to Missoula to get ready for
work on Wednesday.† That evening, I
discovered that Hurricane Hanna was heading straight for Charleston, SC.† From there, it was projected to continue
inland, towards Charlotte.† In fact, the current line of thinking was
that it would reach Charlotte
on Friday evening.† Unfortunately, my
flight home was supposed to arrive at the same time.† I spent much of the remaining week watching
the hurricane predictions and worrying about how Iíd get home.

The job went well, and despite
my worries about Hanna, I enjoyed my time in Missoula.†
On my last evening there, I went for a run on a greenway that parallels
the Clark ForkRiver.†
My run took me all the way to the campus of the University of Montana,
and I even got a look at their football stadium.† Afterwards, I stopped at the legendary
Missoula Club, where I enjoyed a Fat Tire and watched the end of the first NFL
game of the year.

UP ALL NIGHT

By Friday, Hannaís predicted
track had changed.† It looked like Iíd
make it home after all!† Then, my flight
out of Missoula on Friday was delayed.† I
arrived in Denver 15 minutes after my connecting
flight to Charlotte
departed.† Unfortunately, that was the
last flight of the day.† The airline took
the liberty of rebooking me on a Saturday flight, which wouldíve gotten me into
Charlotte
around 3pm.† That posed a problem, as I
had tickets for a football game in Boone that was scheduled to start at
3:30.† Somehow I convinced them to put me
on a flight to Phoenix
that evening.† From Phoenix,
I caught a redeye flight into Charlotte.

The flight from Phoenix to Charlotte
took 3 Ĺ hours.† Iím guessing that I got
no more than 2 hours of sleep that night.†
Christy picked me up at the airport in Charlotte at 6:30 Saturday morning.† From there, we headed straight for
Boone.† A few hours later, I was actually
tailgating for a football game.

The entire day was
surreal.† I spent most of the afternoon thinking
that I might actually be dreaming.†
Somehow, I made it home that night.†
Luckily, I had part of Sunday to recover, before I had to prepare for
the following weekís trip to Utah!